Thought Center
Sindhu Subramaniam from Mumbai
My take on the world around me....
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blogging, China, Dhanteras, Festivals, Formula 1, Ganpati, global economic meltdown, India, Indian economy, Mark Rothko, modern art, Nadal, Nationalism, Obama, Olympics, Palin, Politics, Sport, Technology, TennisRecent Posts from "Thought Center"
Love thy fellow humans - Not really...
18 Mar 10, 4:29 PMIt was 4:58 in the morning. I was outside the gates of the airport. Sleepy eyed, bored, bugged with a traffic jam in the early morning at the airport check post...
All time favorite joke 1
16 Mar 10, 8:00 PMIn keeping with Schumacher, I came across this joke, which is one of my all time favorite political jokes. In fact, knowing that Paul Krugman quoted this joke i...
It has begun...
14 Mar 10, 11:58 PMKnow those days when you change the batteries to your TV remote? Suddenly your thumb screams thankyous. Likewise those days when you're in a hurry and you try ...
So we passed the Women's Bill... So what??
10 Mar 10, 11:28 AMSo, we passed the bill for Women's reservation in the upper house of parliament. Yay!! Ok, now that the rejoicing is done, let's look at the story. Rediff had a...
Int'l Women's Day 2010 - Does it really make
8 Mar 10, 11:43 PMLast year my article was stark - talking about how women's liberation was miles away in India. And it's International Women's Day again - 10 years into the new...
%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Cdiv%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Cdiv%20align=%22justify%22%3EWhy%20am%20I%20describing%20this?%20Because%20I%20find%20it%20hard%20to%20believe%20that%20one%20event%20has%20that%20effect%20on%20several%20others.%20Those%20in%20the%20know%20would%20know%20that%20today,%20March%2014th%202010%20marks%20the%20return%20of%20the%20King%20to%20the%20wonderful%20world%20of%20F1.%20The%20king%20did%20indeed%20return,%20only%20this%20time,%20with%20the%20star%20and%20not%20the%20prancing%20horse.%20The%20race%20was%20rather%20mundane.%20The%20rules%20have%20changed%20a%20bit.%20Pit%20timings%20now%20show%20an%20aggregate%20total%20from%20entry%20to%20exit%20and%20not%20the%20usual%20under-10-second%20count%20showing%20how%20efficient%20the%20pit%20crew%20is.%20Now%20point%20scoring%20positions%20are%20not%20the%20top%206%20or%208,%20but%20the%20top%2010.%20Team%20names%20are%20all%20different%20now.%20We%20have%20Lotus%20racing,%20Virgin%20racing%20and%20Virgin%20now%20means%20that%20there%20are%20two%20airline%20magnates%20involved%20in%20F1%20-%20Virgin%20and%20Force%20India,%20since%20Force%20India%20has%20a%20co-ownership%20by%20Vijay%20Mallya,%20of%20Kingfisher%20beer%20and%20airlines%20fame.%20Deadly%20combination,%20I%20know.%20This%20race%20also%20marked%20Karun%20Chandok's%20debut%20in%20F1%20and%20yet%20again%20we%20see%20the%20tricolor%20on%20the%20circuit,%20painted%20across%20a%20car.%20Godspeed%20that%20he%20lasts%20longer%20in%20F1%20than%20his%20predecessor.%20%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Cdiv%20align=%22justify%22%3EThe%20race%20began%20strongly,%20but%20the%20deadly%20hand%20of%20luck%20and%20fate%20again%20came%20up,%20when%20Vettel%20who%20so%20far%20had%20a%20strong%20weekend,%20began%20slinking%20back.%20I%20remember%20the%20team%20radio%20comment%20that%20was%20aired,%20where%20an%20exasperated%20Vettel%20poignantly%20asks%20his%20mechanics%20if%20anything%20can%20be%20done,%20and%20the%20response%20is%20that%20he%20suffered%20a%20mechanical%20failure,%20because%20of%20which%20two%20prancing%20horses%20and%20a%20McLaren%20lapped%20him%20up%20like%20a%20dollop%20of%20ice%20cream.%20So%20Alonso%20won,%20followed%20by%20Massa%20and%20Hamilton.%20Massa's%20return%20was%20indeed%20momentous.%20The%20chap%20was%20on%20track%20after%20almost%20being%20killed%20last%20year.%20Despite%20that,%20he%20returned%20and%20that%20too%20very%20strongly!%20If%20there%20was%20any%20fear%20or%20apprehension%20in%20his%20mind%20surrounding%20how%20his%20profession%20almost%20killed%20him,%20he%20sure%20has%20overcome%20it,%20and%20for%20that%20-%20RESPECT!%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Cdiv%20align=%22justify%22%3ESchumi%20started%20seventh%20and%20ended%20sixth.%20Big%20deal%20you%20say?%20I%20disagree.%20The%20chap%20is%2041.%20He%20has%20nothing%20to%20prove.%20He%20is%20driving%20more%20as%20a%20hobby.%20The%20car%20is%20different%20and%20new.%20And%20he%20gained%20a%20position%20with%20no%20one%20retiring.%20Alonso%20was%20second,%20and%20he%20won,%20because%20the%20winner%20slinked%20back%20because%20of%20a%20technical%20glitch.%20He%20did%20not%20win%20because%20of%20sheer%20overtaking%20and%20driving%20magic!%20There%20is%20no%20need,%20according%20to%20me,%20to%20exult%20and%20thump%20one's%20chest%20in%20a%20victory%20gained%20out%20of%20a%20race%20leader's%20loss,%20caused%20by%20events%20beyond%20his%20control.%20%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Cdiv%20align=%22justify%22%3ESo%20now,%20the%20dynamics%20are%20weird.%20Ferrari%20is%20strong,%20as%20usual.%20But%20my%20star%20driver%20is%20driving%20for%20a%20star.%20And%20a%20chap%20I%20don't%20really%20have%20too%20much%20respect%20for%20is%20driving%20in%20a%20scarlet%20garb.%20Life%20would%20have%20been%20a%20lot%20less%20complicated%20if%20only%20Michael%20had%20returned%20to%20Ferrari,%20as%20before...%20But%20then,%20he%20entered%20Ferrari%20and%20turned%20their%20fortunes%20around,%20through%20his%20sheer%20hard%20work,%20tuning%20the%20car%20and%20pushing%20it%20and%20himself%20to%20limits.%20I%20wouldn't%20be%20surprised%20if%20he%20does%20the%20same%20turnaround%20for%20Mercedes%20as%20well,%20making%20it%20a%20strong%20and%20powerful%20team,%20a%20force%20to%20reckon%20with%20and%20then%20slink%20back%20into%20retirement.%20Well,%20till%20then,%20he%20has%20a%20job%20to%20finish%20and%20people%20like%20me%20have%20a%20fun%20Sunday%20evening%20to%20look%20forward%20to.%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%3E%3Cimg%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20src=%22https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/29153349-4212991235756244714?l=the-lilac-avenue.blogspot.com%22%20alt=%22%22%20/%3E%3C/div%3E){kind=small}
.%20So...%20now,%20move%20over%20minority%20religious%20communities,%20the%20target%20is%20the%20woman.%20As%20if%20what%20they%20have%20had%20to%20endure%20for%20so%20long%20has%20not%20been%20enough,%20the%20reservation%20in%20legislature%20bill%20is%20also%20dragged%20into%20the%20open.%20When%20I%20first%20heard%20about%20the%20bill,%20I%20was%20stumped,%20for%20in%20school%20I'd%20learned%20that%2033%25%20of%20seats%20are%20reserved%20for%20women.%20What%20I%20learned%20now,%20was%20that%20this%20bill%20sought%20to%20enforce%20the%20same%20across%20all%20levels%20of%20government.%20And%20I%20guess%20it%20is%20a%20step%20in%20the%20right%20direction.%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Cbr%20/%3EIn%20one%20of%20our%20visits%20to%20some%20parts%20of%20rural%20India%20for%20a%20project,%20we%20found%20that%20%3Cspan%3Ethose%20local%20self%20government%20bodies%20that%20had%20ample%20representation%20of%20women,%20actually%20prospered.%20And%20there%20was%20an%20anthropological%20reason%20to%20this%20fact.%20Simple,%20the%20rural%20men%20were%20used%20to%20alcoholism,%20and%20the%20women%20were%20used%20to%20being%20exploited.%20Savings%20would%20be%20squandered%20on%20alcohol%20and%20the%20woman%20had%20to%20endure.%20The%20minute%20they%20found%20a%20presence%20in%20the%20Panchayat,%20law%20enforcement%20became%20possible.%20If%20the%20Sarpanch's%20wife%20was%20on%20the%20Panchayat%20as%20well,%20the%20women%20had%20a%20powerful%20ear%20to%20listen%20to%20them.%20Education%20was%20being%20supported,%20development%20was%20coming%20through.%20The%20model%20has%20been%20tested%20and%20it%20works.%20Then%20why%20the%20disapproval%20of%20a%20formal%20law?%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Cbr%20/%3EWhy%20is%20'equal%20opportunity%20for%20all%20genders'%20still%20so%20difficult%20to%20enforce?%20Why%20is%20talent%20not%20appreciated%20regardless%20of%20gender?%20If%20we%20can%20look%20at%20talent%20beyond%20economic%20status,why%20is%20gender%20still%20a%20bias?%20Why%20is%20the%20'upper%20hand'%20of%20the%20man%20so%20insecure%20as%20to%20not%20want%20to%20allow%20the%20woman%20to%20shine%20through?%20These%20Whys%20have%20somehow%20never%20found%20an%20answer.%20Any%20woman%20who%20sets%20out%20to%20find%20an%20answer%20to%20these%20questions%20is%20branded%20a%20feminist.%20And%20a%20feminist%20tag%20carries%20with%20it%20the%20notion%20of%20an%20inherent%20bias%20and%20inherently%20biased%20voices%20are%20seldom%20if%20every%20heard!%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Cbr%20/%3EThe%20situation%20is%20poor.%20The%20woman%20has%20to%20be%20subservient%20even%20now.%20Granted%20family%20has%20requirements%20that%20are%20met%20only%20by%20the%20woman.%20But%20I%20personally%20feel%20that%20that%20is%20for%20the%20woman%20to%20decide.%20Whether%20she%20wants%20to%20work%20and%20manage%20a%20family,%20whether%20she%20wants%20to%20be%20a%20maid%20servant%20or%20an%20aaya%20at%20a%20school%20is%20for%20her%20to%20decide.%20Whether%20she%20wants%20to%20be%20a%20corporate%20honcho%20or%20a%20scientific%20researcher%20or%20a%20school%20teacher%20who%20can%20work%20at%20her%20kids'%20school%20is%20for%20her%20to%20decide.%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Cbr%20/%3ENow%20this%20incident%20is%20truly%20ironic.%20Maid%20servants%20are%20tough%20to%20come%20by%20in%20Mumbai%20city.%20Especially%20the%20good%20ones.%20I%20happened%20to%20have%20a%20good%20maid%20servant%20who%20surprisingly%20showed%20some%20ethics%20towards%20work.%20AWOL%20was%20not%20in%20her%20vocabulary%20and%20that%20was%20great%20news%20for%20us!%20So,%20one%20day%20I%20got%20to%20talking%20to%20her,%20and%20she%20said%20that%20she%20had%20studied%20till%20grade%2012.%20I%20asked%20her%20why%20she%20didn't%20go%20work%20in%20an%20office%20as%20a%20minor%20clerk%20or%20typist%20or%20any%20other%20role%20that%20would%20justify%20her%20literacy.%20She%20said%20in%20a%20plaid%20tone,%20that%20her%20husband%20did%20not%20want%20her%20to%20have%20a%20secure%20job.%20It's%20anybody's%20guess%20why%20her%20husband,%20a%20daily%20wage%20laborer%20did%20not%20want%20his%20comparatively%20more%20qualified%20wife%20to%20have%20a%20better%20'social%20standing'.%20But%20she%20was%20happy%20that%20she%20was%20at%20least%20able%20to%20come%20to%20work%20and%20earn%20a%20living%20outside%20of%20the%20house.%20Then%20one%20day%20a%20couple%20of%20weeks%20ago,%20she%20stopped%20coming.%20When%20she%20finally%20came%20to%20collect%20her%20settlement%20money,%20her%20explanation%20was%20-%20'My%20husband%20did%20not%20want%20me%20to%20go%20and%20work.%20He%20got%20a%20job%20as%20a%20contract%20laborer%20at%20a%20construction%20site%20for%20a%20whole%20year.%20He%20said%20that%20he%20was%20competent%20enough%20to%20support%20me%20and%20and%20that%20his%20house%20did%20not%20need%20a%20woman's%20income.%20So,%20I%20stopped%20coming.'%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Cbr%20/%3EAs%20long%20as%20this%20is%20the%20attitude%20towards%20women%20of%20all%20social%20strata,%20I%20guess%20all%20we'd%20do%20is%20put%20up%20messages%20on%20FB%20and%20wish%20each%20other%20a%20shallow%20happy%20Women's%20day.%20I%20still%20look%20forward%20to%20the%20March%208th,%20where%20the%20post%20on%20this%20blog%20would%20be%20cheerful%20and%20optimistic.%20Amen!%20%3C/span%3E%3Cdiv%3E%3Cimg%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20src=%22https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/29153349-7874949320834200037?l=the-lilac-avenue.blogspot.com%22%20alt=%22%22%20/%3E%3C/div%3E){kind=small}